


What Our Favourite Knights found out?

by viflow



Series: ARTHUR'S SECRET [4]
Category: Merlin (TV), Merthur - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Canon Era, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-27 05:23:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8388901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viflow/pseuds/viflow
Summary: It's part 4 of the Arthur's secret series.‘’Sorry Elyan’’, Gwaine said, suddenly clearly uncomfortable. Waving his arms apologetically, he shot his eyes briefly to Elyan, his gaze holding sympathy for the blow he was about to impart. ‘’ It’s not Gwen… Arthur is pinning for.’’And he watched each of them closely with a slight amusement as realisation dawned on them.‘’ What?’’ Elyan asked, dropping his jaw, he blinked in surprise.‘’Oh.’’ Percival gasped, choking on the water he was about to drink.‘’Ehm...’’ Leon cleared his throat and looked down at his feet, all of a sudden very interested in the patterns of the ground, though he didn't quite managed to hide his smile. “Uhm,” he added finally very intelligently.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I know not much happening in this, but originally I've planned this series to show Merlin/Arthur relationships through the eyes of the others close to them.  
> But I wanted to include this because I really like them and always wanted to write their thoughts about Merthur.  
> Hope, you'll enjoy this one too.  
> It's part 4 of the Arthur's secret series so it really would make more sense if you read them first, but it can be read on it's own.

’’It had now reached the point where something must be done about it’’ ... Gawine was complaining in the armory, collapsing his exhausted body in a boneless heap, rolling his aching shoulders with loud moans, ’’ _Ouch_.. before he’s gonna kill us all.’’

’’Yes.’’ Leon agreed with a long, suffering sight, wipping the sweet away from his forehead, ’’He’s not been himself in the last three months.’’ he said gruffly.

’’ He’s been a fucking, unberable bastard,’’ Gwaine said with an irritated huff and when Leon sent him a disapproving look, he smiled too sweetly and shrugged one shoulder. ''A real pain in the ass. And that’s me, putting it lightly," he finished with a wide grin, raising his eyebrows challengingly.

‘’He is still our King, you know.’’ furrowing his bow, Leon gave Gwaine a long stare. ‘’You can’t speak about him like that.’’ He said sternly, but his mouth was twitching like biting back a smile.

‘’I can speak about him just like that if he keeps behaving like a dick headed asshole.’’ Gwaine retorted with a loud snort.

‘’He is like a dark thundercloud’’, Elyan added solemnly, glancing at Leon, meeting the other man’s worried gaze, ‘’ if he goes on like this he’ll destroy us and himself as well.’’

Percival looked from face to face. ‘’We should speak to him.’’ He declared with a weary sight.

‘’ Right.’’ Gwaine said, flashing Percival a bright, reassuring smile. Crossing his arms with a loud groan behind his neck, he stretched lazily with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. ‘’ Good luck with that. I, for one, am have no desire to let my pretty head dashed on the floor.’’ 

Percival rolled his eyes, ‘’Sure, for some reason he seems to be quite ardent to decorate your pretty face with his knuckles.’’ He said with a shake of his head and gave a swat at Gwaine’s head that the other knight ducked easily out. Percival choked out a laugh. ‘’I wonder what it is about you that’s got him so riled up. I _really_ don't get it why.’’

Blinking his eyes innocently, ‘’Now why, of course, it’s because the Princess is jealous of my irresistible beauty and charm.’’ Gwaine said, tossing his hair out of his eyes, turning to wink at Percival.

“Yeah, well, something about your pretty face just begs to get hit,” Percival said with a sly grin.

Leon huffed out a laugh at that, then looked seriously around the others. ‘’I agree. It can’t go on like this. We should really talk to him.’’ he said with determination in his voice. ‘’The way he’s been behaving lately, I fear we won’t have any able-bodied knight left in the case of an attack.’’

‘’And what you gonna tell him?’’ Gwaine asked, lifting one eyebrow, the corner of his mouth curling up into a small smirk. ’’ No matter what you say to him, it won’t bring back the person he is pinning for.’’

There was a startled silence for a long moment before Percival burst out laughing, "What the hell, Gwaine?!" he chuckled. ‘’Why would Arthur pin, when Gwen is here at his side?’’ rolling his eyes, he shared a disbelieving look with Elyan.

‘’I’m telling you. He is pinning.’’ Gwaine insisted and he made a noise in his throat somewhere between a grunt and an audible sigh, and there was that knowing twinkle in his eyes that always seemed to say: I know something you don’t, so just shut up.

‘’What are you speaking about?’’ Elyan demanded suddenly. ‘’ Did something happened between Gwen and Arthur? Did they have a break up?’’ He asked with a frown. ‘’Did they break up the engagement?’’ His eyes widening with confusion, he inspected the faces of Leon and Percival before he bore his gaze into Gwaine’s. ‘’Did Gwen commit something to make Arthur break up with her?’’

‘’Sorry Elyan’’, Gwaine said, suddenly clearly uncomfortable. Waving his arms apologetically, he shot his eyes briefly to Elyan, his gaze holding sympathy for the blow he was about to impart. ‘’ It’s not Gwen… Arthur is pinning for.’’

And he watched each of them closely with a slight amusement as realisation dawned on them.

‘’ What?’’ Elyan asked, dropping his jaw and blinking in surprise.

‘’Oh.’’ Percival gasped, choking on the water he was about to drink.

‘’Ehm...’’ Leon cleared his throat and looked down at his feet, all of a sudden very interested in the patterns of the ground, though he didn't quite managed to hide the ghost of his smile. “Uhm,” he added finally and very intelligently.

The three of them shuffled around in awkward silence before Gwaine exclaimed. '’Oh, don’t tell me you didn’t know!’’ He shouted with disbelieve, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation. ‘’ Bloody Hell! If he hung a sign around his head, saying: ‘I’m head over heels in love with my manservant’, he wouldn’t be more obvious than with all his deeds and longing looks towards Merlin.''

Letting out a loud snort, his eyes moving from Leon to Percival than to Elyan and back again, Gwaine asked dramatically, ‘’ My God! Am I really the only one among us with a proper sized brain and sharp eyes?!’’

Percival jabbed Gwaine in the side with an elbow, eliciting a displeased ‘’Oi’’ from the smugly smiling knight. Then he shrugged his shoulder and said.’’ I’ve had my suspicions at the beginning....'’ He sent an amused glance at the others as he continued, ‘’ I mean-- _the_ _way_ he looks at Merlin when he thinks nobody can see him….’’ He shook his head, smiling.’’ It’s like--like he is being lit up from the inside. His face becomes all soft and adoring like Merlin is a key to his heart. And there is always this strangely bright, faraway look in his eyes--’’ he paused for a second, then continued hesitant, ’’But then, he seemed so besotted with Gwen and asked for her hand, so--" He shrugged again as his eyes flew to Elyan.

Elyan looked slowly at all of them, and his face was an odd mixture of understanding and hazed disbelief. "Well, Yes..." He rolled his eyes, then coughed out a low, embarrassed sound. He rubbed the back of his neck then sighed. ''Erm...Alright.’’ His mouth quirked up, and for the first time this evening it turned into a genuine, mischievous smile. ’’You should be blind not to see the way these two are gravitating to and around each other. With Merlin never staying far from Arthur’s side--and Arthur-- for all their bittering and insults and his complain about Merlin’s clumsiness, always taking him everywhere, always wanting him close, like he couldn’t bear being away from him... "Every time we’ve been in some kind of danger, it was always Merlin Arthur’s eyes looked for first, and he always loomed around him like a lion protecting his cub." He shook his head with a small chuckle. ’’There was something about these two I’ve sensed from the first time. No matter the reason, but if these two smiled or glared at the other either in happiness or anger, it was always like everything stopped existing, and to them there was no one else in the world but each other."

‘’Tell me about it.’’ Gwaine growled in pain. Then he flashed a knowing smile at the others.

The other knights burst out laughing, breaking the tension in the air.

Gwaine grinned, Leon shook his head but his eyes were glimmering with affection.

‘’ Do you remember a couple of months ago when we thought we had lost Merlin to those bandits?’’ Gwaine asked with a frown. ‘’Our rigid, level-headed King was out of his mind with worry and fear, and he didn’t rest until we found him." with a meaningful glance at the others, he continued with a wide smirk on his face. ‘’Oh, You should have seen Arthur when Merlin stumbled out from behind a bush, dirty and covered in mud from head to foot. For all his prattish behavior with Merlin, Arthur was so bloody over brimmed with joy and relief he just laughed and laughed in delight at the sight of him. A second later he was running towards Merlin like a fool, and with no care of his garment, he hugged his muddy servant like he was the most precious thing in his life.''

''What… in the light of recent events: I’m strongly inclined to believe _He really is_ -for him.'' Gwaine added, shaking his head with amusement.

“So, now, I understand Arthur’s behavior when Merlin was hit by the Dorocha,” Leon said with a grave voice, the smile dropping off his face, expression turning serious. ‘’I’ve known him since he was a boy but never saw him so devastated and stricken with grief before. He’s always been so stoic, always kept his emotions and himself in tight control. I have never before witnessed him dropping the tight mask of control that held his emotions in check.’’

Gwaine shivered, his shoulders dropped, and his words were a shaky whisper when he put in, "Hell, it had been one of the worst moments in my life.’’

‘’We were all deeply shaken.’’ Percival chinned in quietly. ‘’But none of us were hit so badly as Arthur. He was half crazy with sorrow and grief. He never left Merlin’s side for more than a few seconds, his eyes fixed on Merlin’s face like he couldn’t let him out of his sight in fear-- he was gonna die if he looked away."

A wry smile crossed Leon’s face and a slight frown appeared between his brows when he said. ‘’Our duty bound King, with his deep sense of righteousness and his willingness to sacrifice himself for the good of Camelot and her people: would have left everything behind and without a second thought he’d have abandoned the quest and sacrificed thousands of lives, just to save Merlin.’’ He stopped and when he spoke next, his voice was thoughtful, quiet. ‘’The fear, panic and deep concern Arthur was showing for Merlin’s well-being were unlike any I’d have ever imagined Arthur prone to.’’ His gaze became distant before he added. ‘’If it wasn’t for Lancelot I’m not sure we’d have been able to pursue him to stay."

’’Well, believe me--'’ Gwaine started, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief, ‘’it wasn’t the first and only time the Princess exposed himself in such a manner. And not the first time either, that he lost the facade of his almighty haughtiness and kingly dignity over his fear and anguish for his clumsy, blue-eyed servant.’’

Then the mischief was gone from his eyes, replaced by an uncharacteristic seriousness. ‘’ But it’s not my story to tell.'' He said in response to the questioning glances of the others.

‘’Yeah, Merlin seems to be the only one who could handle Arthur.’’ Elyan said with a long sight. ’’I’m sure if he was here, he would raise his brows at the frenzy Arthur is fighting with, and he would tease and scold him endlessly for his recklessness.‘’

Gwaine made a face at that. ‘’Yes...Arthur’d roll his eyes and tell him to shut up, he’d pretend to be angry by his insolence or would smack him on the head. And Merlin’d either be grinning cheekily and talking back or he’d raise a questioning, amused brow. But the result would be the same: while complaining and huffing about Merlin’s uselessness and cheekiness, in the end, Arthur’d grin at Merlin with that soft look in his eyes he reserves only for him, and he‘d do exactly as he was bid by Merlin.’’

Gwaine’s expression warmed considerably as he carried on with a wishful sight, ’’ Merlin would spare us these countless hours of excessive training, all our bruises and muscles aches, as well as the self-esteem of the other knights."

Grinning brightly Leon chinned in. ‘’Don’t forget the golds he’d spare for the Kingdom for all the practicing dummies and shields Arthur has destroyed in his rage in the last months."

‘’ As the weeks wear on …Arthur’s temper and fool mood seem to be growing blacker and blacker.’’Elyan said with a frown. ‘’He behaves if all joy and happiness had been leached out of his life. His spirit is broken and every bit of good humor had deserted him.’’

‘’That’s right.’’ Percival agreed. ’’I haven’t seen him smile since--’’ he started, then cut off the sentence and blinked in bafflement when realization dawned on him, ‘’Oh, God...since Merlin went away.’’

‘’ Of course not,’’ Gwaine chopped in, ‘’because Arthur’s definition of happiness and joy is Merlin.’’ He declared it as a matter of fact.

‘’We should speak to Arthur and ask for his permission to leave and bring Merlin back.’’ Leon said with something akin to hope in his voice.

‘’Yes, we should do that.‘’ Percival joined in with enthusiasm.

‘’It seems to be the only solution for stopping Arthur in his self-destroying madness.’’ Elyan nodded in agreement.

‘’I’m not sure if it’s a good idea.’’ Gwain supplied casually. ‘’You know that Arthur is stubborn like a bull and he is pride to a fault. He would never admit that he misses him, and I’m absolutely sure he is not going to allow us to go after him.’’ Leaning back carelessly against the wall, stretching his long legs, he crossed his arms over his chest and added nonchalantly. ‘’I don’t want my head bit down by a livid, love-stricken bear. ’’

He shrugged and smiled sheepishly as he opened his arms. ’’But please, you are free to try." Raising an eyebrow at Leon he continued slowly. ‘’Although, you should consider, that Merlin can be stubborn like hell as well. And even _IF_ Arthur agreed- which I doubt greatly- to go after him, it won’t mean that we would be successful in pursuing him to return. Considering the state he was in- due to his quarrel with Arthur about Gaius the last time I saw him- Merlin may not wish to return,” he finished quietly.

Narrowing his eyes, Leon stared at Gwaine suspiciously for a long moment before he flew his questioning gaze to Elyan and Percival- which they answered with clueless shrugs and raised eyebrows.

“I knew it!’’ Leon yelled a second later, pointing an accusing finger at Gwaine. ‘’I knew something happened between them while we were away. Merlin’d never have left Arthur’s side if not for a very severe reason.’’ He kept his accusing gaze on Gwaine as he added. ‘’If you weren’t such a secretive, tight-lipped son of a bitch everytime we asked about Merlin or the reason for his sudden leave, we might have figured things out a little sooner and could have found a way to fix it.‘’

“Well yes,” Gwaine admitted, flashing Leon a bright smile. ‘’But it’s not my story to share either.’’

‘’But you do know where Merlin is, don’t you?’’ Elyan asked with a furrowed brow.

‘’Of course I do.’’ Gwaine huffed out a noise, ‘’I know everything about him.’’ He flipped his hair back, grinned rakishly and sent a wink towards Elyan. ‘’I’m his favorite.’’ He declared with all the charm he possessed.

Snorting, a little bemused but obligingly charmed, Elyan smiled back.

Percival rolled his eyes and gave Gwaine a friendly snap.

Leon shook his head, grinning. “Speaking of which,” he said slowly, quirking an eyebrow at Gwaine. ‘’How is it you didn’t go with him? We all know how much you care about Merlin and even if you never speak about, we know exactly to whom your loyalty first belongs to.''

‘’ Of course, once we brought Gaius back to safety I wanted to go after him. ” Gwaine responded with a kind of grunt that meant how could it be a question man, throwing an incredulous glare in Leon's direction. His voice became a bit exasperated, but his expression filled with fondness when he continued, ‘’But the little, cunning bastard made me promise to stay behind and look after Arthur.’’

He shrugged and carried on, beaming broadly. ’’And you know ...when Merlin looks at me with his big puppy eyes and smiles at me with his Merlin smile-- I’m just done. Before I knew what I was saying, I agreed to stay behind.’’ He let out an overdramatic sigh. ‘’Oh, bloody hell, he could make me climb mountains, fight dragons and agree to every stupid promise he makes of me...if he smiles at me like that.

‘’I believe you are not the only one who has no defense against Merlin’s easy smile.’’ Leon said, mouth tipping upwards in a half smile.

Percival scratched at his cheek and the quirk of his mouth was filled with fondness as he nodded his head.

‘’Yes, I know what you are speaking of.’’ Elyan agreed.

Leon bit his lips and looked down at his feet, then he turned to the others, ‘’Arthur had no power against Merlin’s sweet smile either. Without even trying, he wrapped Arthur around his little finger. I’ve witnessed it on many occasions: Merlin only had to smile and without realizing that he did it, Arthur went out of his way to do what he thought Merlin expected of him. But of course, he would never admit that it had anything to do with him wanting to please Merlin.’’ Leon carried on with an amused snort.

‘’He could do that, couldn’t he? ’’ Gwaine asked cheerfully, his expression filled with pride and affection.

They grinned at each other foolishly like giggly, scheming schoolboys.

Suddenly serious, Leon switched into the mode of Arthur’s first knight. He was all action and determination when he strode to the door and declared.

‘’ I’m going to speak to Arthur. Whatever made Merlin leave, I’m sure we could convince him to come back. His place is and would always be at Arthur’s side. Merlin belongs here, with Arthur.”

 


End file.
